The dollar climbed on Tuesday, November 26 in Asian trade, particularly against the Mexican peso and the Canadian dollar after Donald Trump's announcement of a massive increase in American customs duties, the prospect of increased trade tensions also cooling the markets. scholarship holders.
The dollar rebounds, peso and Canadian dollar under pressure
President-elect Donald Trump announced Monday evening that he would increase customs duties on Mexican and Canadian products to 25%, while increasing those on Chinese products by 10% in addition to the taxes already in force or that he might add.
The dollar initially stumbled heavily on Monday at the prospect of future Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent – a Wall Street veteran – mitigating the inflationary impact of the economic and trade policies promised by Donald Trump, but it logically rebounded with vigor after these new announcements. Around 02:30 GMT, the greenback climbed to 154.05 yen per dollar, after rising as high as 154.49 yen. It gained 0.34% against the euro. Above all, it soared by around 1% against the Canadian currency (to 1.41 Canadian dollars per US dollar), and by 1.50% against the Mexican peso (to 20.63 pesos per dollar).
“The dollar's reaction to Bessent's appointment could have been only a fleeting parenthesis, the market is once again focusing its attention on the customs taxes expected at the beginning of 2025”which should support the greenback in unison with “Donald Trump’s inflationary policies”underline the experts from the MUFG bank. Vast tax cuts, increased customs duties, expulsions of migrants… all measures likely to fuel high inflation, and therefore keep the interest rates of the American central bank and American bond yields high. , favoring investments in dollars.
While the Scott Bessent designation had raised hopes on Monday for a more moderate and pragmatic policy, Monday evening's announcements in Washington sounded like “a return to the intransigent doctrine “America first” which brutally excludes even its closest allies”reacts Stephen Innes, analyst at SPI Asset Management. “It seems that any semblance of an olive branch has been removed and broken”he adds.
Chinese stock markets digest an expected announcement, Tokyo retreats
Chinese stock markets did not react strongly on Tuesday, the threat of an increase in American customs duties having already been largely integrated by investors. Around 02:30 GMT, in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index rose 0.39% to 19,225.30 points. The Shanghai composite index increased by 0.27% to 3,272.51 points, and that of Shenzhen was in balance (-0.03% to 1,974.30 points).
Conversely, the Tokyo Stock Exchange experienced a cold snap: the flagship Nikkei index dropped 1.34% to 38,260.38 points at the end of morning trading, and the broader Topix index fell 1.25% to 2,681, 66 points. Following Donald Trump's announcements, which are fueling the scenario of heightened trade tensions, “operations by risk-averse investors dominate”which penalizes the stock market, observed experts from the financial media Nikkei, also noting persistent geopolitical tensions, particularly in Ukraine.
This geopolitical volatility continued to drive oil prices, despite reports that a ceasefire could be near in Lebanon, which briefly weighed on the black gold market. Around 02:30 GMT, the price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea rose 0.16% to $73.13, and that of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 0.13% to $69.03.
Chips slide, jet maker stumbles
“The day after day fall of the title (of the American semiconductor behemoth) Nvidia on Wall Street leads to maintaining a hold on the sector's actions linked to chips on the Japanese market,” notes Kosuke Oka, of Monex Securities. At the end of morning trading, Tokyo Electron lost 2.98% and Advantest 5.58%.
Japanese jet manufacturer IHI fell 3.80%, after dropping up to 7% following press reports of a major fire at a Japanese rocket launch test site.
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